Farms.com will provide coverage of party platforms leading up to the June 2 election
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Ontario’s election campaign is slated to officially kick off Wednesday
Premier Doug Ford is expected to meet with Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell at 3 p.m. on Tuesday to request the dissolution of the legislature.
As the political parties campaign across the province leading up to the June 2 election, Farms.com will provide coverage of party platforms along the way to give farmers and rural Ontarians a sense of what each party is promising should they form the next government.
The coverage will focus on parties represented at Queen’s Park with published platforms.
Starting with the incumbent Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released a pre-election budget on April 28. This budget is serving as the party’s platform in the upcoming election.
Included in the budget document is a section titled Securing the Agri-Food Supply Chain.
“To ensure that agri-food will continue to play an important and growing role in Ontario’s economy, the government is taking a strategic approach to securing the province’s supply chain and driving innovation in the sector,” the budget says.
If re-elected, the Conservatives commit to:
- Investing $10 million in 2022–23 to establish a Food Security and Supply Chain Fund to strengthen Ontario’s food supply, including addressing barriers to recruitment by attracting and retaining domestic workers, closing sector skill gaps, and supporting the well-being of workers;
- Providing $10 million in 2022–23 for ongoing support and expansion of the Enhanced Agri-Food Workplace Protection Program to help farms and agri-food operations take additional measures to support the health and safety of agri-food workers;
- Allocating $5 million in 2022–23 for emergency support initiatives to help livestock producers if emergency processing disruptions occur. For example, the beef set-aside programs will help Ontario farmers to deal with increased costs related to market delays; and
- Protecting the health and safety of incoming international agricultural workers through a $2.6 million investment that will include a welcome centre with health resources, as well as additional vaccination clinics.
These promises are good news for the ag sector, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture said.
“OFA is pleased to see a focus set on addressing critical labour needs and we look forward to collaborative efforts to implement and execute the investments for agriculture outlined in the pre-election budget,” the organization said in a statement.
Be sure to check Farms.com often for coverage of the NDP, Liberal and Green Party platforms.